MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Erik ten Hag had the sympathy of managers around the Premier League a day after the Dutchman was sacked by struggling Manchester United, with most saying they could face the same fate any day in the results-driven business.
United have appointed their assistant manager and former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy to take over on an interim basis with the club languishing 14th in the Premier League standings after nine games and 21st in the Europa League table.
“I feel very sorry for him, it’s one of the best jobs in football,” Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said. “There’s only us, it’s not teachers or architects or something like that.
“I wish him all the best and he will come back stronger. If the results aren’t good enough, you get sacked. No-one is different, myself included.”
Liverpool boss Arne Slot said as a fellow Dutchman, Ten Hag’s dismissal hit harder but believes the unemployed coach will land on his feet.
“Always your first thoughts are with the person,” Slot said on Tuesday. “We are all in this job so we know that it can happen, but if it happens – especially because I know him a little bit and I know how much work he puts into it – to get this news for him is a pity.
“We also know, especially us from Holland how well he did at Ajax (Amsterdam) and he won two trophies over here so we will see him in the near future again at a big club,” Slot added.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said he was not shocked by the news.
“I guess disappointed as it was inevitable with the scrutiny he’d had. It’s the nature of football these days,” Postecoglou said.
The Spurs boss said the intense scrutiny has made it increasingly difficult to do the job in “any sort of processed way.
“It seems like if you look at Erik, (he was) there for two-and-a-bit years and in those two years (he won) trophies – one in each year. If he was here with that record, would he have lost his job? I don’t know. Everyone tells me all I have to do is win a trophy.
“As a manager, you’ve got to hit a sweet spot of success, playing football everyone likes and getting every signing right.”
United host Leicester City in a League Cup fourth-round tie on Wednesday at Old Trafford.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; additional reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bangalore; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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